The Metallic Mall Menace
by Fegerrific
Summary: What can go wrong with a mall shopping spree? When you're Mystery Incorporated, just about everything! A security robot gone haywire is roaming the mall, attacking everyone in its path. The gang must shut down this rogue robot once and for all before the mall closes its doors for good!
1. You Meddling Kids

Velma strode over to the giant beached shark and gave it a knock. "See…the shark's a fake! Just a miniature submarine dressed up to look like a great white. No doubt bought with the pirate gold in the shipwreck." She flipped open a panel in the side of the sub and the seaweed monster tumbled out amid a pile of gold doubloons. "And I'll be willing to bet that he's a fake, too." Pulling the creature to its feet, Velma and Fred wiped slimy seaweed off the creature's face, revealing a scowling man with white-blonde hair and a scraggly beard.

"Cowabunga Carlyle? The world-class surfer?"

"Not quite," Velma corrected. "He'd lost his titles under allegations of cheating, and hoped that winning the competition would skyrocket him back to fame. But when he found the shipwreck, winning no longer mattered. He used the legend of the seaweed monster and great white shark to scare everyone away while he stole the treasure!"

"Yeah," Cowabunga snarled angrily. "With all that gold, it would have been like my birthday every day!"

Velma froze suddenly. "Birthday?" she parroted quietly. "Oh, jinkies…"

"And it could have been if not for you meddling kids!" Cowabunga shouted as he was escorted away by a police officer. "And your dumb dog!"

"Aw, tell it to the judge," the officer retorted, none-too-gently shoving his prisoner into the backseat of the patrol car. "And don't you dare get any sea slime on my upholstery."

"Well, another mystery solved," Fred announced happily, striding towards the Mystery Machine. He noticed that Velma was still frozen in thought. "What is it, Velma?"

She looked around for Shaggy and Scooby, relieved to notice them messing with one of the vending machines in the beach's snack bar. "Scooby's birthday," Velma replied.

Daphne bit her lip, leaving rose-colored lipstick on her front teeth. "Oh, jeepers, you're right!"

Velma looked worried. "It's next week. We've got to go shopping and invite all our friends and get everything ready. But how?"

Fred snapped his fingers. "I've got it! We'll take the long way home, hand-delivering some invitations to our good friends. In fact, I think we can deliver an invite and go shopping in one fell swoop. We're an hour out from Mariawood Mall. We could stop in there and see what we could find as well as slip an invite to Frank and Brock. Shaggy and Scooby would be too preoccupied by the food court to worry about us."

"Perfect," Velma said. "Let's get on the road."


	2. Return of Old Friends

Shaggy and Scooby munched happily on snacks as the Mystery Machine bounded down the interstate. Traffic was light and the gang made good time through Florida; before too long, a green road sign heralded the coming of Orlando, Florida. Fred flicked on the turn signal and smoothly exited the freeway.

"Mariawood Mall," he announced, turning into the packed parking lot and screeching into an empty space.

"I hope New Army has my favorite shoes!" Daphne squealed, leaping out of the van excitedly.

"Now, now," Velma scolded. "Don't forget we have a job to do."

"We do?" Shaggy asked curiously.

Velma gulped as she realized she said too much. "Of..course…we…uh have to find the food court as quickly as possible! Yeah, that's our job!"

Shaggy looked puzzled. "Really? I like this job!"

In the mall, people carrying armloads of bags and boxes bustled around the shiny open hallways. Enormous skylights filled the mall with gorgeous natural sunlight. The gang walked over to the glass balcony overlooking an elegant beige-tiled mezzanine.

On the mezzanine below unfolded an unusual sight. Maria Webb, the owner of the mall, strode purposefully in-between lines of silvery-blue robots all standing at attention.

Behind her jogged her boyfriend, Brock Knight, a handsome sandy-haired man in an acid-green Haunted Swamp Tours t-shirt and blue jeans.

**(A/N: The gang met Brock Knight and Maria Webb in **_**Scream of the Sinister Swamp Spook)**_

"Come on, Maria," Brock whined. "You said you had the whole day off!"

Maria lost patience and spun around, fire blazing in her eyes. "Brock, this security system cost me an arm and a leg, okay? I didn't know it was going to be delivered today, so I had to come in and make sure everything's set up right." She smiled slightly. "When it's all finished, we can have our day off. Okay, honey?"

Brock pouted. "I guess…"

Maria kissed him on the cheek. "That's my boy. I'm going to find Dr. Iverson and have him put these robots through their paces." With a barely audible 'see you later,' Maria vanished into Nerdstroms. Muttering furiously, Brock stalked away as well.

"Hey, Brock!" Velma called, waving. Brock did a double take as he recognized the gang. He caught a nearby escalator up to the second floor balcony where they stood.

"Hey, gang! Hi, pup!" Brock exclaimed, scratching Scooby behind his ears. "What are you all doing here?"

"We just unmasked a Seaweed Monster in Miami, so we thought we'd take a breather and shop a little before heading home," Fred replied. "How have you been? And when did you and Maria start dating?"

Brock thought for a moment. "Hmm…probably about a month after the swamp monster fiasco? After Frank and I partnered up, we started seeing her more and more as we became successful. And, well, I always thought she was beautiful...so, I asked her out-—under the pretense of talking business, of course—we hit it off and have been going out ever since."

"Nice," Fred replied with a smile and a laugh.

"Yeah," Brock chuckled. "We've been doin' pretty well for ourselves, so we gave ourselves the week off. He's visiting family up north and I'm here spending quality time with my girl. Or at least, I was until these stupid robots decided to intervene…" he murmured.

"Yeah, what's going on here?" Velma asked, indicating the robot mob below.

"Counterfeit money and shrinkage have been at an all-time high," explained Brock. "And there aren't enough security guards available to enforce the rules. So Maria hired Dr. Iverson, her techno-guy, to make these security robots to do the job. He built the mall's security system from scratch and these robots are his latest upgrade. Oh look, here he comes now. You're all in for a treat!"

Maria Webb, her black heels clip-clopping on the shiny mall floor, returned onto the scene, closely followed by a slender gray-haired man wearing horn-rimmed glasses, a blue button-down shirt, black pants and a lab coat. In his hand he carried a silvery-gray remote with dozens of multicolored buttons.

"Now remember, Ms. Webb," Dr. Iverson puffed, struggling to keep up with Maria's long strides, "These robots are highly experimental, so don't expect perfection."

"I do expect perfection," Maria replied disdainfully. "If these don't work perfectly, you won't see a cent!"

"Ms. Webb," Dr. Iverson protested. "Please be reasonable!"

"I don't have to be reasonable," Maria sniffed. "I'm paying you a pretty penny for this security system. The least you could do is deliver satisfactory results. And if I'm not satisfied, you don't get paid."

Dr. Iverson look worried as the pair finally reached the robots. "All right, old boy," Dr. Iverson murmured to himself. "Moment of truth time." He closed his eyes and, with trepidation, pressed a series of buttons on the remote in his hands.

With a whirr of circuitry and a success chime, the robots' eyes all glowed yellow and they began to move around jerkily. The doctor opened an eye cautiously. "Ha HA!" he laughed in triumph upon seeing his success. "I am a GENIUS!"

"Jeepers!" Daphne exclaimed. "I didn't know it was possible!"

Brock nodded, a smug grin crossing his face. "Told you so."

Below, Maria patted the doctor on the back. "Congratulations, doctor, you've really outdone yourself."

Dr. Iverson blushed faintly at Maria's praise. "Thank you, Maria. Now…my fee?"

"I'll authorize the payment and you'll receive it in three business days," she replied in a no-nonsense tone.

"Fantastic!" Dr. Iverson exclaimed, grabbing Maria's hand and pumping it vigorously. "Pleasure doing business with you!" As the grey-haired doctor dashed off, Maria shook her aching hand from the enthusiastic farewell.

On the balcony above, Brock turned to Mystery Incorporated. "Well, looks like the show's over."

"Food court time!" Shaggy interjected. Scooby barked his agreement.

"Good idea, guys," Fred replied. "You all go scout out the food court and we'll join you in a few."

As the dog-and-detective duo ambled off, Velma slipped Brock an invitation to Scooby's birthday party. Brock slit open the envelope and scanned the invite quickly. "Hmmm…I think we can finagle that." He slipped it into his pocket. "I'll make sure to tell Frank, too."

"Great!" Fred exclaimed. "The more the merrier! You go on your date. We'll see what we can find for Scooby while he's busy eating."

Brock chuckled at Fred's spot-on comment. "Looking for anything in particular?" The trio exchanged puzzled glances and shrugs. "No? Well, Stacy's has a pretty decent sale today; you might find some good deals. It'll be up this escalator, down the hall and to your left. Can't miss it."

"Thanks!" Velma replied as she, Fred and Daphne headed up the escalator. "See you later!"

While Mystery Incorporated dispersed into the mall, Brock leaped on the escalator and slid smoothly down the moving banister. "Well, my love," he sighed, leaping off the banister and giving an exaggeratedly low bow to his girlfriend. "Shall we go?" Maria giggled like a schoolgirl as Brock raised her hand to his lips and kissed it gently.

"Gallant as always, Brock," she tittered, kissing him on the lips. "Thanks for waiting so patiently."

Brock took his girlfriend's hand and steered her towards the nearby exit. "You're worth waiting for," he replied, causing Maria to emit another giggle.

As the lovebirds approached the exit, a shrill alarm sounded throughout the mall!

Maria gasped in shock. "That's the robot alarm! They've caught a shoplifter. I have to go check this out!" She untangled her fingers from Brock's and dashed towards the alarm.

"So close," Brock scowled, chasing after his girlfriend.


	3. Mayhem at the Mall

In Stacy's Department Store, Velma, Fred and Daphne wandered through the pet department, looking for a present for their canine friend. "How about this collar?" Velma asked, holding up a turquoise doggie collar.

"Oh, no," Daphne admonished. "That does not match Scooby's coat at all. But this one…" She held up a turquoise collar nearly identical to the first, yet, somehow, more acceptable. "This just screams Scooby."

"Those are on sale today," a raven-haired teenaged clerk replied from atop a nearby ladder as he hung a sale banner from the ceiling. "All red dot items are 30% off."

"Oh, thanks," Daphne remarked, turning her attention back to the racks. The clerk, attempting to straighten the banner, teetered precariously on the ladder's top rung. As if in slow motion, the clerk lost his balance and tumbled off the ladder, landing with a thump in a display full of socks and sweaters.

The trio jogged over to the boy to see if they could help. He struggled to extricate himself from the display, fumbling on a slippery pair of argyle socks. Fred grasped the boy's arm and yanked him to his feet. "Thanks, mister," the clerk said, blushing furiously. "This is so embarrassing."

"Accidents happen," Velma replied breezily. "I think they'll understand."

Suddenly, one of the new security robots clomped up to the gang. "Shoplifter alert!" it droned in an expressionless mechanical voice. With lightning-fast reflexes, the robot clamped onto the clerk's arm with a vise-like grip, causing the boy to cry out in pain. "Shoplifter alert!" it repeated, blaring a shrill alarm. "Shoplifter alert! Shoplifter alert!"

"Ow!" the clerk shouted over the robot's alarm. "What's this thing's problem? I haven't taken anything!"

At that moment, Maria and Brock jogged onto the scene. "What's going on here?!" demanded Maria.

She opened up the robot's head and cancelled its alarm. Its duty over, the robot released the teen and stomped off to patrol somewhere else. "Andrew Williams! I'm surprised at you. Hand it over, Andy!" Andy, the clerk, shook like a leaf, never taking his eyes off the robot. "Well?"

"I-I h-h-hav-ven't st-stolen an-n-y-y-th-thing-g-g," Andy stammered.

"It's true, Maria," Velma interjected. "We've been with him the whole time."

Maria folded her arms over her chest and eyed the shaking store clerk suspiciously. "A likely story. What's that in your front pocket?"

Andy reached into the front pocket of his black polo shirt and pulled out a pair of socks. "Oh, those must've fallen into my pocket when I tumbled off the ladder."

"Oh, Andy!" Maria sighed, massaging her forehead in irritation. "All this stems from your klutziness?" She turned to the curious crowd gathering around the scene. "Everyone, I'd like to personally apologize for the delay in your Mariawood shopping experience. And to make up for it, I'm offering 15% off your entire purchase for the next fifteen minutes."

As the crowd cheered, Maria rounded on Andy. "And every dime they save will be coming out of your paycheck!" she hissed furiously.

Brock laid a calming hand on Maria's shoulder. "Aren't you being a little harsh? It seems like it was just an honest mistake."

"Honest, my foot!" Maria exclaimed. "He's a walking disaster! If we weren't so short-staffed, I'd have fired him myself!" Brock quickly escorted Maria out of earshot as she ranted and raved about Andy's flaws.

Andy hung his head and slunk off to clean up the sweaters and socks strewn about the floor. Wordlessly, Fred, Velma and Daphne bent to help him. "You don't have to—" Andy began, but Fred cut him off with a look and a wink.

"Maria can seem pretty intimidating at first," he replied. "But she's a decent lady once you get to know her. She'll come around."

Andy blinked back tears. "Y-you th-think so?" he stammered, hastily folding sweaters and piling them haphazardly onto the display case. He extricated his nametag and cheesy 'ASK ME ABOUT OUR SALES' badge from the pile and, with shaking fingers, hastily pinned them back on his shirt.

Fred squeezed the clerk's shoulder. "I know so."

Andy managed a small smile. "I-I'd better get back to work," he murmured, jogging back onto the sales floor. "Th-thanks-s for ev-everything."

"Any time," Fred called after the young man.


	4. Rogue Robot

"All right, Scooby-Doo. We've got a food court to find. Is your sniffer ready to roll?"

"Ruh huh! Ret's ro!" Scooby barked.

Nose to the ground, Scooby set a course to the food court. The great dane clambered aboard a nearby escalator and rode down to the first floor. Then, sniffing madly, he clambered onto the up escalator and rode up to the third floor before climbing onto the down escalator again and riding it all the way down to the basement.

"Is your nose losing its touch, Scoob?" Shaggy puffed, weary from following his pet from escalator to escalator. "Or are you just doing this for fun?"

"Rheee!" Scooby yipped happily, riding down the escalator's banister like a roller coaster.

Shaggy snickered at his silly pet's antics. "You're gonna get us thrown out," he admonished.

"Roilsport!" pouted Scooby as he reluctantly began to sniff out the food court.

On the way to the food, the dog-and-detective duo passed one of the security robots on patrol. "Like, those robots are, like, uber-creepy," Shaggy murmured as the robot surveyed him with unblinking eyes.

Scooby shuddered as the robot's gaze fell on him. Suddenly, the robot snatched up Scooby by the tail and a siren began to blare! "No pets in mall! No pets in mall! Dog alert! Dog alert!" the robot droned in a mechanical voice. Scooby yelped in fear and tried to run, but the robot's grip was too strong.

Maria Webb, attracted by the robot's blaring siren, rounded the corner with a very reluctant Brock in tow. She released the robot from duty and it wandered off to terrorize another mall guest. "I am terribly sorry about that. Please accept these gift cards as an apology."

Shaggy and Scooby waved the cards away before returning to their search for the food court. Maria turned to her long-suffering boyfriend. "Brock, we need to find Dr. Iverson and get this robot situation all straightened out before I'm ruined! I've given out over a thousand dollars in apology gift cards just this hour!"

"So, it...can't wait until...tomorrow..." Brock moaned, but Maria shushed him with a look. "Okay, fine," he grimaced. "Lead the way."

Over on the other side of the mall, Fred, Velma and Daphne exited Nerdstroms empty-handed. "You wouldn't think he'd be so hard to buy for," mused Daphne.

"He isn't," Velma replied. "But you can't exactly gift-wrap a seventeen course meal," she quipped, causing the rest of the group to chuckle.

"Hey, look," Fred exclaimed. "It's one of those security robots from this morning." The metallic man clomped down the hallway, surveying everything with its unblinking electronic eyes.

"Jinkies, it's a little creepy-looking, don't you think? Especially those glowing eyes…"

"Well, if they keep the mall safe, they're okay with me," Fred replied. "Even if they are a little eerie."

"You're going to HAVE to shut them down!" came a voice, causing Fred, Velma and Daphne to jump in shock as Maria Webb and Brock Knight, accompanied by Dr. Iverson, rounded the corner. "There's been false alarms non-stop since this morning. And they're dangerous! One man was pocketing his wallet and the robot grabbed him and turned him upside down, shaking him until the wallet fell out! By some miracle, we didn't have to send him to the hospital!"

"My programming was flawless!" the doctor countered furiously. "The robots are incapable of such behavior!"

Maria's voice suddenly grew dangerously soft. "What are you insinuating?" she hissed. "Did you forget who works for whom?! Shut. Them. Off. Now."

Muttering furiously, Dr. Iverson withdrew the remote from his pocket and sullenly pressed a few buttons. Within minutes, the army of robots clomped towards the doctor and silently fell into formation, their glowing eyes dimming as they shut themselves down.

Dr. Iverson made a cursory count of the robots. "There's one missing!" he shouted, pressing a few buttons on his remote. "Robot X23-45, respond!" He looked up into Maria's worried gaze. "It's not responding! It's gone rogue!"

"A rogue robot?" Maria parroted. "We have to find it!" She and Dr. Iverson split up and took off into the mall to search for the robot.

Brock sighed deeply. "I think I'll just…sit this one out," he said to no one in particular. "…go grab some Chinese food." With another long-suffering sigh, he ambled towards the food court.

"Hmmm…what on earth could have made the robots go haywire?" Velma asked.

"Well, if you ask me, we've got another mystery on our hands," Fred remarked. "Let's find that robot!"

While Fred, Velma and Daphne scoured the mall, Shaggy and Scooby trekked blindly through the mall until Shaggy suddenly dropped to his knees and raised his arms skyward. "Oh-ho-ho! This is it, Scooby!" he exclaimed. "The mother lode, itself! Yes, old buddy, it's the promised land!"

Indeed, Scooby and Shaggy had found the food court. Its heavenly bounty called out to them: steaming hot pizzas, fresh baked sourdough bread piled high with deli meat and crisp, mouthwatering vegetables, piping hot noodles tenderly sautéed in soy sauce and garlic, sizzling all-beef hamburgers nestled beside crispy, golden-brown French fries. "Where to start?"

"Rith rone rof reveryring!" Scooby barked matter-of-factly, grabbing a tray in his mouth and making a beeline towards Mamma Vincita's Pizzeria.

"I always knew you were a smart dog," Shaggy quipped, following his pet around the food court.

As the dog-and-detective duo loaded up their trays, they noticed one of the security robots clomping through the food court. "Look, Scoob, another robot."

Scooby shuddered involuntarily as the metallic monster clomped over towards them. "Intruders!" the creature droned in an expressionless tone. "INTRUDERS! INTRUDERS!" A siren began blaring loudly as the mechanical man began flipping over tables and chairs, screeching loudly.

Panic reigned in the food court. A mad rush ensued for the exit as people attempted to get away from the mechanical menace as quickly as possible. Trays filled with food scattered everywhere as the robot, screaming like a banshee, continued its deranged rampage of the food court.

By the time the rest of the gang stumbled upon the wreckage of the food court, the robot had vanished.

"Jinkies, what a mess!" Velma gasped.

"Jeepers!" Daphne exclaimed, covering her mouth in shock. "Did the robot do THAT?!"

"Only one way to find out," Fred announced. "Let's look for clues!"

The gang split up to search the wreckage of the food court. "Look at this," Velma called, holding up a mess of wires and circuits. "I found it over by the pizza place."

Fred strode over to examine the clue. "Robot parts?" he murmured. "But what does it mean?"

Velma pocketed the circuits. "I have my suspicions…" she replied. "Let's see if we can find some more clues…Whoa!" The trash can Velma was standing by suddenly shook violently before tipping over completely, causing a garbage-covered Shaggy and Scooby to tumble out. "Jinkies! What were you two doing in there?"

"Like, robot!" Shaggy gasped fearfully. "Like, trashed food court! Oh…the carnage! All those delicious French fries…"

"Rhe ramrurgers!" Scooby yelped skyward. "Rhink rof rhe ramrurgers!"

"The robot was here?" Fred asked.

"And, like, it tore up the place, screeching about intruders!" Shaggy finished.

"Intruders! Intruders! Intruders!" came a shout.

Shaggy turned to Scooby. "Exactly, Scoob! Good impression!"

Scooby eyed his owner with bemusement. "Rhat rasn't re!" he barked, confused.

Shaggy gulped. "Well, if it wasn't you..."

"Intruders! Intruders! Intruders!" the robot screeched, its siren blaring loudly as it clomped towards the gang.

"Like, zoinks!" Shaggy exclaimed. "Rogue robot dead ahead!" With shouts of horror, the gang split up and raced away.


	5. Final Clues

"I think…we've lost 'im…" Shaggy gasped after a harrowing chase through the mall.

"Oh, really?" the robot screeched loudly, stomping into Nerdstroms. The gang cowered in fear as the robot approached menacingly. Closer and closer it came, but it suddenly found itself being pulled backwards!

Scooby was approaching the robot with a comically oversized magnet! The robot ran, breaking free of the magnet's grip, but left behind a bright red button.

"Thanks, Scooby," Shaggy sighed, giving his faithful pet a vigorous scratch.

"Rou're relcome!" Scooby yipped, giving Shaggy's hand a gentle lick.

"Jinkies, what's this?" Velma exclaimed, bending down to pick up the button that the robot left behind.

"Velma said 'jinkies!' " Daphne exclaimed. "It must be a clue!"

"A big one, too!" Velma replied, studying the red button with interest. "ASK ME ABOUT OUR SALES!" it blared in golden-yellow type. The fastener had broken, which had caused it to fall off. "I think I've solved this mystery!"

"Is it trap time, then?" Fred asked excitedly. "I've got just the plan."

"Like, does the plan involve us luring the robot into a trap?" Shaggy asked, his dread mounting.

"We're prepared to offer you three Scooby snacks apiece and a trip to the food court before we trap the robot," Fred replied, deadpan.

Shaggy and Scooby exchanged looks. "Is it just me, or are their offers getting better?"

"Reah! Reah! Rood rourt!"

"So, you two will find the robot and get him to chase you," Fred continued. "You'll lead him into the camping department of Stacy's Department Store and duck into a tent. You'll race out the back and we'll zip the tent shut, trapping that mechanical monster inside! It's foolproof!"

"Like, where have we heard that before?" Shaggy muttered.

Their bellies full from their promised food court jaunt, Shaggy and Scooby took off into the mall in search of the robot. "Man, I sure do love shopping at this mall!" Shaggy shouted loudly.

"Reah! Reah" Scooby yipped in agreement. "Rhopping!"

With a rhythmic clomping, the robot stomped up to the dog-and-detective duo. "Intruders! Intruders! Intruders!" it screeched, its siren blaring loudly.

"Like, gangway!" Shaggy shouted.

The duo led the robot on a harrowing chase through the mall, one that led through the clothing racks of New Army and Canadian Sparrow, a mad dash through the Mariawood PlayLand and featured an impromptu swim through the mall's gurgling fountain as well as an accidental ride on the carousel (The robot rode the pink unicorn, while Shaggy and Scooby mounted an ivory pegasus.) But finally, huffing and puffing, Shaggy and Scooby raced through the doors of Stacy's Department Store.

"Upstairs, Scoob!" Shaggy called, leaping onto the escalator. But Scooby's paws weren't meant for the slick linoleum, and he slid helplessly onto the down escalator instead. Inexorably, the robot clomped closer and closer to the scrabbling hound.

Scooby tumbled down the escalator and slid into a mannequin, knocking it over. The robot couldn't stop in time and tripped over the mannequin, tumbling into a display of sweaters and jeans. The mechanical man struggled to get up, but Scooby pounced on the robot, pinning him to the ground.

"What's going on here?!" Maria Webb shouted, storming down the escalator with fury etched into every line of her face. "Crashing through the store and knocking over displays like madmen?!"

Fred, Velma and Daphne, attracted by the commotion as well, clambered down the escalator to see the scene unfold. "Hey, you caught the robot!" Fred exclaimed.

"They did?" Maria echoed, noticing the struggling robot for the first time. "Well, who is it?!"


	6. The Mystery is Revealed!

"Time to see who this mechanical menace really is," Fred proclaimed. Scooby leaped off the robot so Maria and Fred could pull it to its feet and tie its hands behind its back.

Brock meandered onto the scene, carrying a pair of chopsticks and a takeout box from Schwang Duk. Expertly, he tweezed an onion from the noodles and popped it in his mouth. "Mmm…Lo Mein," he murmured happily before noticing the strange scene unfolding. "Hey, you caught the rogue robot. Somehow I knew you would."

At the same moment, Dr. Iverson dashed around the corner, huffing and puffing. "No…sign…of the…robot…" he gasped. He stopped suddenly as the strangeness of the scene suddenly sank in. "Look! There it is! I'd recognize my X23-45 anywhere! I see you've managed to subdue it."

"And its all thanks to these amazing sleuths," Maria replied.

"Well, Ms. Webb, would you like to see who's been haunting your mall?" Fred asked.

"I sure would." Maria strode over to the robot and twisted off its metal head. "Andy Williams?!" she exclaimed in shock.

Velma grinned smugly. "Just as I thought!"

"How'd you know it was Andy?" Fred asked. "I thought for sure it was Dr. Iverson."

"And I figured it was Brock Knight again," Daphne commented.

"Well, let's look at the clues we found," Velma replied. "My first clue was the circuits and wires I found at the food court. It proved that we weren't dealing with a robot, just a human in a robot suit. Andy removed the inner workings of the mechanical man, leaving just a robot suit to wear."

"Genius," Dr. Iverson murmured.

"It also proved that Dr. Iverson wasn't the robot. I saw that the good doctor used a remote to control the robots. Why would he need a robot suit to wear when he could have faked the robots going haywire through remote control?"

"And why would I have wanted my robots to have a reputation of going haywire?" Dr. Iverson asked. "It would ruin me!"

"My second clue was this button that the robot dropped." She slipped the red 'ASK ME ABOUT OUR SALES' button from her skirt pocket and showed it to the assembled group. "It told me that our robot was a mall employee. Since Brock doesn't work at the mall, everything pointed to Andy."

Brock shook his head in amazement. "Brilliant deduction as usual, Velma."

Maria rounded on the costumed Andy. "Why did you do this?" she hissed angrily at the disgraced store clerk.

"Because I was mad at you and that worthless hunk of metal!" Andy snarled furiously. "First, one of those robots accused me of stealing, making me look like a fool in front of the whole store. And then you came over and started screaming at me, calling me a klutz and blaming me for the whole thing! So I thought if you believed that the robots were going haywire, you'd have to shut them down!"

Maria thought for a moment "I guess I was a little hard on you, Andy," she admitted. "But you took it too far in return. A lot of people could have gotten hurt from your antics."

Andy hung his head. "I'm sorry, Ms. Webb."

"Sorry doesn't quite cut it, Andy," Maria replied. "You're fired. And you're going to have to pay for all the damage you caused. Consider yourself very, VERY lucky I'm not pressing charges."

"Yes, Ms. Webb," Andy mumbled into the floor. "I'll go get my stuff, then."

Maria nodded. "A wise decision. Come in tomorrow and we'll discuss a payment plan." Without a backwards glance, Andy scurried away.

"Poor kid," Fred murmured. "I hope he learns his lesson from this."

Maria nodded. "I think he will. He's a pretty bright kid, all things considered."

Dr. Iverson cleared his throat softly, causing the group to turn around. "So, what does this mean for my robots?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, doctor. In light of all this, I just don't think it's a good idea to delegate security to machines just yet."

"I understand. I'll just…escort myself out." He punched a few buttons on his remote and the robots activated, marching themselves single file towards the door.

Brock and Maria watched Dr. Iverson and the strange robot parade vanish out the door before turning to Mystery Incorporated. "Thanks so much for solving the mystery," Maria said. "As a reward, please help yourself to an item from any store."

"Jinkies, thanks!" Velma replied.

Maria laughed. "It's the least I could do." She turned to her boyfriend. "I'd go with you, but I have a date."

"Your Knight in shining armor awaits," Brock quipped, offering his arm to Maria. "Shall we go?"

"Yes, please," Maria replied, taking Brock's proffered arm and kissing his cheek. Brock responded with one on the lips. As the pair strode out of the mall, Brock surreptitiously patted the small box-shaped bulge in his pocket.


	7. Tied With A Bow

With Scooby and Shaggy gorging themselves at the food court, Fred, Velma and Daphne scoured the mall for the perfect birthday gift for the perfect dog.

"Well?" Velma asked, holding up a gift for the gang's scrutiny.

Fred examined it carefully. "Hmmm…I like it!"

"Perfect," Daphne remarked excitedly. "I think he'll love it!"

The trio, taking advantage of Maria's offer, took the gift and hid it in the Mystery Machine before meeting Shaggy and Scooby for a peaceful, robot-free meal.

**(A/N: What did the gang get Scooby? Dying to find out? ME TOO! Send me your best ideas for a birthday gift for your favorite cowardly canine. Whatever I like best will make an appearance in a later story...)**


End file.
